Ting

Ingredients

To ferment

• 400 gsorghum meal
• 800 mlwarm water
• 2 tablespoonssorghum meal from a previous batch, optional

To cook

• 600 mlwater
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt

To serve

• milk, fresh or soured
• sugar, to taste
• butter, optional
• or a meat stew, for a savoury bowl

Directions

1. Put the sorghum meal into a large bowl or jar. Pour in the warm water and stir it into a thin slurry. It should be about the consistency of single cream.
2. Add a spoonful of meal from a previous batch if you have it. Cover the bowl with a cloth rather than a lid. The mixture needs air but not insects.
3. Leave it somewhere warm and out of direct sun. Souring it takes between two and four days. Stir it once every day with a clean spoon. Bubbles should appear on the surface after a day.
4. Stir that liquid back in each time. Warm weather speeds the whole process up. In a cold kitchen it may take five days. Taste a little to judge how sour it has become. It should be clearly tangy but not unpleasantly sharp.
5. Bring the fresh water and salt to the boil in a heavy pot. Stir the fermented slurry well before using it. Pour it slowly into the boiling water. Whisk constantly as it goes in.
6. Bring it back to a simmer over a medium heat. It will start to thicken within a few minutes. Turn the heat down as low as it will go. Stir it every few minutes for twenty-five minutes. The porridge should be thick and smooth. Cook it longer for a stiffer porridge.
7. Add hot water to loosen it if it goes too thick. The raw grain taste must cook out completely. Keep a spoonful of the raw ferment back to start the next batch.

Technique

• Ting refers both to the soured meal and to the porridge made from it.
• Very similar fermented sorghum and maize porridges are made across southern Africa, including ting in South Africa and mageu as a drink.

Substitutions

• Maize meal can be soured the same way and gives a milder porridge.
• A mixture of sorghum and maize meal is common in many households.

Variations

• A thinner version is drunk from a cup rather than eaten with a spoon.
• Some households cook it with milk instead of water for a richer bowl.
• Bogobe jwa lerotse cooks the porridge with sweet melon and is a separate Botswana dish.

History

Sorghum meal is left to sour for days before cooking; fermentation preserves the meal and adds the sharpness Batswana prefer.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ting?

Ting is a breakfast from Botswana: sour fermented sorghum porridge, tangy and thick, eaten hot with milk. Sorghum meal is left to sour for days before cooking; fermentation preserves the meal and adds the sharpness Batswana prefer.

How long does Ting take to make?

Ting takes 10 minutes plus 3 days souring of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ting?

Yes, within limits. Maize meal can be soured the same way and gives a milder porridge. A mixture of sorghum and maize meal is common in many households.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ting?

Add a spoonful of meal from a previous batch if you have it. Cover the bowl with a cloth rather than a lid. The mixture needs air but not insects.